And so begins the 15th season of Big Brother, U.S. A. While there is an all newbie cast, there will be many twists and turns to test their mettle. One of the twists will be announced to the cast during the (pre-taped) show, which features a LIVE audience for the first time since Season One.

Keys Discovered/ Yelling Commences

From New York to California and many points in between, sixteen of the nation’s brightest young people hoot and holler when a key to the Big Brother House is revealed to them. Some of them even know what that means; others are a bit naïve. Fans are excited wondering who these people are and discover that one likes to grill frog legs while another receives well wishes from a sister known to all those who watch the show. Two are married with children, but the others are unattached and in their 20s. Ruh, Roh, we know what that means…

Julie welcomes us from inside the mid-century modern decorated house then leads us to FROTH (Front of the House) where the audience cheers her appearance and those sixteen newbies anxiously awaiting word from Julie that they are to enter the house.

The first four to hit the door running and squealing are:
Candice
GinaMarie
Judd
Andy

Once GinaMarie has her moment at the inner door, they hightail it to the two bedrooms outfitted with four double beds each and claim their spot.

The second group:
Alissa
Jeremy
Kaitlin
McCrae

The third group:
Howard
Helen
Jessie
Nick

The last group to scramble to claim bed space:
Aaryn
Amanda
David
Spencer

Kaitlin – “The cattiness and drama is just around the corner.”

For bios read the opening posts in their individual threads.

Champagne All Around

The first to get the introductions started as they group on the three couches in the living room is GinaMarie from Staten Island. Candice makes fun of her accent. She also tells us that GinaMarie is the loudest in the house by far. Meanwhile GM lets everyone know that she is naturally endowed.

Judd from a two stoplight TN town raises his glass to getting the party started.

Dave, with the curly top locks, lets everyone know he is a beach lifeguard. Judd originally thought that he might be the dumbest guy in the house, but then he met David.

Amanda, now living in South Florida, admits to originally being from Long Island, and gets a yeah from GinaMarie.

Jeremy from TX tells everyone he currently lives on his boat, his boat, his boat.

Nick says he’s now a resident of New York and Amanda can’t keep her eyes off of him, thinks he’s the most attractive guy in the house.

Helen has two very young sons and says that while she is the Mom of the house, she doesn’t cook and she doesn’t clean. She tells us she wants to hide her political work background.

Andy, from Chicago, tells them he teaches college level public speaking. Kaitlin thinks he’s so cute and she was hoping for a “gaymance” this summer.

Jessie is unemployed and a super fan who is excited to be there.

Kaitlin, from Minneapolis, is a bartender. Jeremy thinks Kaitlin is the hottest girl by far. When he looks at her his heart releases rainbows and doves. (Judd - you might rethink your dumbest one there comment.)

Howard is a family counselor whose faith means everything to him. Even though he is not gay, McCrae has a crush on the cut-from-stone, Howard.

Spencer stands to say he is a conductor for the railroad. As he sits, GinaMarie makes choo-choo noises with an extended arm and says she likes it. Spencer tells us that GinaMarie is trying to ramrod the whole meet and greet thing. She is like nails on a chalkboard. She even laughs in her accent.

McCrae from MN tells them he is a proud pizza boy. Amanda thinks he gives off a genius aura and does not believe that he is a pizza guy.

Candice has a Bachelor’s in Speech Therapy (to which Howard raises his glass) and looks forward to getting to know them.

Aaryn admits to being a college girl at TX State U; David falls head over heels and hair top.

Elissa is a Yoga Instructor and loves being a wife and a mother. Helen relates, though Judd thinks she looks familiar, but can’t pin it down.

As soon as the party breaks up, Howard, Jeremy and Spencer meet in the mustache room and make the first alliance, a secret alliance, shh.

Jessie also uses the mustache room to try to form an alliance with David and Jeremy. She tells the camera that, if nothing else, they are the best looking people there. Jessie really does think she is the prettiest girl evah! Oh, another “secret” alliance has been formed. Jeremy is now in two of them.

The Twist

“For the first time in Big Brother, there will not be two nominees each week; there will be three nominees every week. The HOH will still nominate two house guests for eviction, and I’m sure you’re wondering how that third person will be chosen. Well, I’m not going to tell you YET. As former house guest, Rachel Reilly would say, floaters grab a life vest.” - Julie

The yard is set up with colorful upside down popsicles made of some sort of slick plastic. It is an endurance comp and the object is to hang onto the slick round plastic columns as long as possible.

They fall off (or claim to have dropped on purpose) in the following order:

Judd – at the five minute mark
Howard – at the seven minute mark
Candice – at seven minute mark

At ten minutes, they start with the “extras” cold water, a giant tongue licking and wind blowing colored liquid. About that time Candice and Judd glom onto the fact that Elissa looks like Rachel Reilly and must be her sister. Duh.

Amanda – at the 41 minute mark
Spencer – ditto

At the 3:55 hour mark with only four guys left hugging their popsicles, Julie offers an incentive to the next two who drop. There are two lunch pails, one of which contains a Never-Not pass. In other words, that person will never be a have-not and will not have to eat slop, take cold showers or sleep in the have-not room for the entire time they are on the show.

Only McCrae (who feels like an outsider and says the win would save him for this week) and Nick are left. McCrae promises him anything to get him to drop. Nick falls for it and thinks it’s great. He drops at the 4 hour plus mark followed quickly by McCrae. McCrae grabs the HOH key.

Everyone notices McCrae now.

YET

“The third nomination will be made by someone in this room. Every week America will vote for the house guest they believe is playing the best game. That player will be named the Big Brother Most Valuable Player and they will make that week’s third nomination. This BB MVP will be informed of their status in secret and he or she will also make their nominations in secret with no obligation to ever reveal his or her identity.

The player that the MVP nominates will be revealed right before the Veto Competition each week. I’ll leave you with that. Have a good night, house guests.” – Julie

The hamsters all express shock and awe as they try to wrap their heads around this twist, what it means for their game and how are they going to work the system.